Replace RV Electrical Service Panel & Explanation Of How Electricity Works 

Don't ever apologize for rambling, because when you "ramble" it is VALUE. It's like free spins at the casino! I'm a reloader and have always struggled trying to wrap my mind around electricity so when you started talking about grains as an analogy, light bulbs went off. Thanks for what you're doing.

I have been in the electrical industry since 1975. I have 4 unrestricted Masters licenses. all I can say is, you are spot on.

You are an exceptional Technician/Teacher/Proctor. It is truly a pleasure to watch a true professional who not only enjoys what he does, but has integrity that he is passing on to the next generation! I myself I have about 40 years Emergency/ specialty vehicle repair, so I’ve been around the block once or twice. God Bless you Sir….. 🇺🇸

I am pondering to go to school to start the process of education on RVs! I was an electrician in the air force, went to a trade school for electronics, worked in a manufacturing environment on industrial equipment for 16 years, own a lawn care company! For some darn reason my wife and I want to go full time rving and I want to learn about RVs and mobile tech busines! If you was close to me I would pay you for me to learn from you! You rock sir, thank you for your service!

After watching your video I want to say that after many years of being around electricity, your explanation of it was so simple. I am a General class Ham Radio Operator and part of the license process is for us to understand electrical theory. In our classes they have never used common phrases to AC Volts, amps, impedence, resistance like you did. In 45 minutes I learned more than many years of very smart hams trying to use theory to get us to understand electricity. Keep up the good video's.

The fact that you take so much time to explain things to your audience (soup to nuts) is top notch, NEVER stop! I have been researching Solar and Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries for my future RV, for almost 3 years now - and I still consider myself a total novice where electricity is involved. You made a brilliant point about connection points being the main failure in electricity flowing. I was not aware of how complicated the electrical panel in the RV was, and the chance that the builder may NOT have used proper gauge wiring or torquing specs. Jesus take the frigging wheel...I don't even have my RV yet (prob a class C around 26-28 ft with NO SLIDES) but I am trying to learn as much as I can about how an RV is put together and how everything flows, failure points, etc so I can be prepared for my future ordeals, which I know will be a part of owning one of these poorly built monsters of the camping set. Thank you again. Your video on rectifying the slideout issue (the chain/cable system) over the top of the slide...what a nightmare! Nope, no slides for me...

Analogies helps; you remind me of those memorable teachers that enjoyed teaching, with patience. Thank you, now please continue professor. :-)

I really enjoy your videos. As a plumber I’ve always been around electricity with only cursory understanding of how it works. As a new RVO owner I am more and more interested in understanding how it really works so I can maintain these systems myself so these videos are great. Thanks for putting it out there.

I am a carpenter by trade, but have been trying to understand electrical concepts (on the molecular scale) for over 20 years. I've had to solve related electrical problems that are the nature of the industry, but the lessons everyone talks about are so homogenized ,that any hope of true learning, means thinking outside the invisible "magnetic field" (or box). Your explanation has given me the best understanding so far, of this remarkable force that dominates our universe.

I am 62 in 1976-77 i studied this ..our teacher used analogies like you . Thanks for the refresher !!

Hi Darren, I must say this was a very through and helpful explanation of electricity and how it works. I came across your channel the other day,I have to say I pretty much watched all your videos , you do an outstanding job and I find them very informational and interesting to watch . I’m an aircraft technician by trade and have been RVing with with the family for years, I pretty much do all the work on my unit myself, I actually picked up a couple tips form a few of your videos. Keep up the good work.

Darren. Just bought a used RV. Have watched most of your videos. This video was the best explanation of electricity and how loose connections can cause you a lot of problems. I have already informed my wife that I will be pulling the power panel apart inside the RV to inspect closely before any trips this summer. Thank you for a great video and reminding us not to be complacent when dealing with general upkeep of our RV’s. Keep the videos coming.

If a Navajo and Hopi man here in the white man's English-speaking world of the United States can understand this video, then certainly anybody else in this world can.... you nailed it man.👍

This is the best video for this topic I have found. You are a great teacher I belive I learned more in this video than iv ever learned from any book or website. thank you for this education

Enjoyed the class. Love learning still at 67 years old. New sub and student. Thank you for your time to teach.

Great video! Love the analogies to help us understand a bit more how electric current works. It just so happens I was camping this past weekend and my 12-volt interior lights were all flickering at the same time when the wind was blowing. Only happened a few times but I figured I had a bad ground somewhere. After you gave us our homework assignment lol, I went out and pulled the cover off my distribution panel of the jayco trailer. Even by looking at the ground coming back from the RV battery I could tell it was loose! You could move it back and forth with your fingers! Must have taken seven or eight turns with a screwdriver to get it tight. I'm sure one more trip would have caused me huge headaches! Thanks again.

That is an awesome video. I love the first 20 minutes you explained how electricity works a grade 1 kid can understand. That’s exactly what I needed for understanding You have 1 follower more, you earned it

As much as I knew about electricity (I'm a Ham Radio Operator) I was unaware of torques on those screw connections. I knew they could loosen and needed to be checked / tightened annually. So "THANK YOU" for that piece of critical information. I had to replace several connections on my dropping panel in the rear of my motorhome due to a fire when the neutrals came loose! It smoked to circuit board too! Not sure which happened first, but a new board wasn't too much $$$. Now I will get one of those torqueing screw drivers - never heard of such a thing! Again, thank you Darren!!! Blessings your way!

This was the very best explaination I've ever heard for RV electrical. You made it clear enough for even a noobie like me to understand. I'm a college professor and I commend you on your use of analogy, backtracking for review and the injection of humor. That's how I teach too. The very, very best! I'm in Lake Stevens, just south of you, and I know who I'll call when I need RV help! Thank you!

It would be a blast working with you! I love trouble shooting and understanding electricity, circuits and controls etc.! I get pumped going through these videos with you! I've got to get back into HVAC or maybe even RV service. Thank's for all the fun!

Finally, for 52 years minus child hood I have sought to understand electricity, really understand, and finally, I am getting so much clear direct images that show the real process that is occurring. I can see the parts of my systems now, grasp the way the energy moves, and why it moves, and the language to explain it. This is phenomenal. No one has ever allowed me into the mysteries of pure energy and the methods and procedures with which to manage it!!!!, with the clarity that worked for me, as this good man has done here. God bless America, we are pretty good folk after all !*!*! * :< )

Hi Darren, great video, just have an issue with one of your explanations: The "unbalanced" Neutral. On a 120V system (generally the 30A plug) the Neutral cannot be unbalanced, because it has nothing to balance out. Hot in, Neutral out, nothing to balance. On a 240V system (generally 50A) , you have L1 and L2 and that's where the balancing act comes into play. Often different appliances are plugged into either L1 or L2, lets say, the draw on L1 is 25A, on L2 is 15A. That's where the Neutral balances out the returning Amperage at the Neutral bar to a roughly 20A average return to the central Neutral in the net. And this is the only place where you easily can have a different Amperage reading with your Amp meter. Respectfully Peter Electricial Tradesman for 60 years and had the pleasure to work on RV's for the last four years.

I totally LOVE this electrician! I don't say this often man , but you have a passion for making certain you're understood, with explanations, examples, past job site situations yeah very through. I'm a framer with desire to learn as much as I can about electrical. I just found my go to guy for all things electrical. I'm moving into an RV that's been sitting for 20 years this video has saved me untold headaches learning about the importance of torque values for different gauge wires. Thank you so much

Dude, lol, my late husband was a master electrician and could NEVER explain ANY of this stuff to me, but you used all the right analogies and now I FINALLY get it! Tire pressure by gallons per minute, grains in a bullet, etc.? YES! I understand THOSE things so now I finally understand volts by watts, hz, etc.! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. Seriously, you have no idea how long I've been trying to wrap my head around those things so I could work on my RV properly and actually KNOW what I need!! YAY! LOL No really, thank you so much. wow

Thanks, I'm a maintenance tech and I work with and around voltages from 5 vdc to 480 vac 3 phase on plant equipment and cnc's pretty much daily. I also just got a 1982 GMC Midas. It's a whole new prospective thinking rv and I Thank You for your videos and helping you sort these systems out. Thanks for the homework too!

I just bought a 1981 RV class C. The original owner is a mechanic but that's not saying he is an electrician. All of the exterior (clearance lights) are not working. Other vids fixed this problem by replacing a fuse. Electricity is my weakest point probably because it is invisible. I can see why a meter (and knowing how to use it), is so important. Your vid is extremely helpful. I will probably need to buy a "Reading a Meter for Dummies" book.

I've only been training as an rv tech for 4 years, and I am picking up a lot of things that will help me help customers better. Thank you

Absolutely excellent explanation of how a/c works etc electricity. Best one I've ever heard. Thanks! 👍👍

I understand electricity better than all my Engineering classes i ever took in high school thank you.

Great analogies. Exactly the info I needed, plus some added understanding. Thank you!

Great explainer! I just found your channel and can't be happier that I did. I've been learning a lot.

Thanks for the vid, I am an old man that got thru doing most of my own fixing. Did not know about the 110 not being grounded to the RV frame. Now it makes perfect sense

You are an excellent teacher. Electricity is very hard to explain so people can understand. You did great with your analogies. I learned a lot from you.

Darren, These videos are great and if I have anything I can't resolve on my Arctic Fox, I will haul it up to Port Angeles from Oregon to have an expert repair! Thanks for the work you do.

Darren, this is the absolute BEST video of all that I have watched of many. I really like electrical work. Thanks.

I'm so excited that I'm not the only one that explains how things work and diy instructions with rambling, 2 or 3 analogies per step!! I have an obsessive compulsive need to understand anything that I do or attempt to fix, before I start doing it! Especially electricity! My dad is a retired master electrician that had his own business 35 plus years and was also a fireman for 28 years before getting his general contractor's license and building houses, (meaning he then subcontracted the electrical) working smart not hard! ... Rambling.... But my mom has an RV that has electrical problems, and I had a standard understanding of what could be causing burnt wires at the light bulb recepticals which also crumble take the burnt bulb out! So I appreciate all explainations and trouble shooting you detailed! I actually related and kept up with you!! I'll be following you for other helpful tips! Thanks again!

Good video, good explainations. I have been an instrument electrician for over 40 years with exp in residential, commercial, and Industrial electrical and mechanical. And I got a lot from your video about RVs. I have worked for several OEMs and none of them have ever torqued their screws. Since I now have a 1996 Winnebago Sunrise, I have ordered a torquing screwdriver and will check every connection. And I love how Winnebago connected 4 wires in-line to one wire going to 2 fuses in their chassis wiring. Yes one of the 4 wires came back and went to another fuse. What a cluster!

Okay... Let me just say this... This is a fantastic video!!! I stumbled on your video after looking for some issues I am having with my propane system in my TT. I was working on my issue while your video was playing in the background. I have have stopped my project to watch and listen. I have a love for electricity as I have been in the industry for 20 years. My friend... the way you have explained things is on point.. This video will truly help folks trying to learn.. I am impressed. Well done Sir.

Nice video. The only thing that I would add is that electricity is caused by an imbalance. High energy on one side. Nature will not tolerate an imbalance. Like water, it is always trying to level out. If you ever see your voltage going real high and then real low, it is usually a broken neutral wire. Thanks for your videos. Really enjoy them.

I thoroughly enjoy listening to your explanations, I had a Stepfather that was Very thorough on explaining things so I could understand the functions of different mechanics ,,I Understand Your English My Good Man,,Remind Dakota NOBODY can teach you more that Your Dad.

Great lesson Darren. My mission is to be an informed and reasonably competent RV owner. My favorite nugget of knowledge that I am taking away from this video is my introduction to the torque screwdriver and where to look for the specs!

Thank you so much! I have searched for days trying to figure out why my neutrals were burned! I only opened up my panel to see if there was room to put a transfer switch behind it. OMG! That's when I discovered the neutral wires were toasted. All of them black, and the neutral from the shore power cord literally broke off of the buss bar when I touched it. The lug on that wire was welded to the bar. The ground from the shore was rubbed through and there was a melted corner of the bus bar where it touched the ground wire. I cut back what I could and rewired the neutrals and tightened them up as much as I could. But, when running the AC yesterday, I measured the temperature of the wires - 355F!!! I shut down the air conditioner and the temp decreased. Now, with just the AC for the fridge running, the temp is about ambient. After watching this, I wan't to flip off the entire panel and just run the DC and propane! Do I need to do what you've done here? Replace the (1999 30A) power center? I feel like I want to replace the shore power cord too. It's wired directly to the panel and not a 30F/30M - just a 30M. This is a 1999 Winnie Brave SE 29A (F53). Uggh. I could cry thinking about how me, my son, and 3 dogs could have burned alive in that motorhome :-( - we've camped in it every weekend for 2 months. Also, and I don't know if this is related, but before I discovered the burned wires, I had turned off the power to a circuit I was adding an outlet to (hybrid water heater addition). When I tested the circuit before cutting the wires, hot was 0V, neutral was 2V. When cutting the neutral wire, the GFI tripped at the outlet of my house where the MH is plugged in. The GFI in the MH did not (that was the circuit I was adding an outlet into). Would this indicate that there's an issue somewhere in that MH GFI? I also have a Hughes Power Watchdog EPO. It doesn't detect an open neutral (it can detect open neutral on the MH side and the pedestal side). I guess all of that was to ask; can all of this really be because of a loose connection at the neutral bar or could there be something going on up at the AC unit? Any help truly appreciated. I'm pretty handy, and if I can do this myself, I would rather do that then send it to an RV repair shop. But, I really need to make this safe before we take of in 10 days across country to the desert southwest.

One of the best videos on electricity I have ever seen. Great job.

I appreciate your attention to detail. I have learned so much in the few weeks I've watched your videos. I also want to commend you on your family friendly language, it's unfortunate that many presenters can't express themselves without using vulgarity. Keep up the great work.

Really excellent instruction! When you said “I have no idea” I thought what? what? Got me! 😂😂😂

Thanks so much for allyour time and energy. Anyone that owns an RV needs to watch this channel, even if they are getting someone else to fix their rv, because a lot of them do not know exactly what they are doing and you can watch them.

Thanks for the very loooooooooong explanation of the electrical system!! I stuck through to the end. Good stuff!! Years back I owned a pop up camper. I had left the dead battery in not knowing it could damage anything. I figured I didn't remote camp so no harm right? Well, I learned the hard way. Apparently, the electrical panel worked very hard at trying to charge a very dead battery. As a result, the converter fried the entire unit. I had to replace the unit...lesson learned. Fast forward a few years later, my wife smells something electrical burning. Same unit. The neutral lug became loose probably while traveling. The lug was pop-riveted on the panel and there was a lot of play in it. As a result, it melted the neutral a bit. RESISTANCE!!!! I drilled out the lug from the panel and bolted on a new lug. The unit has worked fine ever since.

Great explanation! Thank you! I’m going to go check my RV now.

I just bought a motorhome and I have to rewire it and this video really gave me a better understanding of the way electricity works in a camper. 👍 Thanks

Nice job clearing up some important issues,

I’m going to take the knowledge you shared and try to replace my electrical service panel myself because Camping World said they can’t do it “in the field” and I can’t bring my unit in. So thank you for being so thorough!

Great video! I haven’t thought about electrical theory with your style of analogies before. Great job with your explanations!!

Well no popcorn but nuts!! Good job explaining. I loved you #1 worker... good job Dakota!! Humor is cool.

Without a doubt, the best RV channel. Awesome explination!

I think it was a Geat job at explaining from the ground up..lol. Actually, I'm in the process of teaching this info. to a lady friend of mine. She's eager to be self sufficient including Rig Maintenance. Now she's got additional reference material. Thanks.

Excellent edification. Basic 101 electricity was great. Always need to re energize the gray matter especially at my age. Thanks for taking the time to make & post this. Quite an effort so a BIG thank you.Love the electrical side of things. Guess I picked up my Dads genes as he was an Electrician. LOL.

I am planning to upgrade my travel trailer from 30 to 50 amp as a retired Electronics Tech. I am fairly confident that I can handle it, however I would love a video on this procedure. I know a few other RV folks who are not as knowledgeable that would like to upgrade as well, and also I may pick up some RV specific tips. Thanks !

Terrific job! Your work ethic is as strong as your explanations are detailed. Enjoyed the entire video...wish we had such dedicated craftsmen working on RVs in Louisiana. Thanks for the valuable information.

Darren, Excellent video! I designed electrical systems for electrical contractors since 1983, and taught others for about 30 years. I never used some of your analogies, but I liked them. There a couple things that are a little off, but most will not know. In AC you pass your hot potatoes to the next person and get them back 60 times per second. Also, a 120 volt rms sine wave has peak voltage of 170 volts. A 240 volt rms sine wave has peak voltage of 339 volts. For those who say that the two 120 volts add together to get 240 volts, and that they are out of phase by 180 degrees, they only know what the were told or what an oscilloscope is showing. They do not truly understand. Keep up the great videos! Respectfully, Kevin

Thanks for the understandable but thorough video. I've run into problems cause I didn't get enough information. Really appreciated.

I can ask questions? I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm learning thanks to this video and others I'll be watching. I still need to figure out how the fridge and the stove work, what I need to make them work, and if the solar panel is strong enough for me to live in the RV not hooked up to power.

The wire size determines the breaker size !!!!! My Eureka Moment !!!! THANK YOU !!! Awesome videos, Darren, thank you SO much. Bob in Grand Rapids, MI

When connecting stranded wires to that type of terminal, the quality and longevity of the connection is greatly improved when a ferrule is crimped on the wire first. The ferrule bonds all the strands together.

Darren, YOU DA MAN !!!! I really enjoyed this video, and your style of teaching. Thank you for taking the time to make it. Bob from Grand Rapids MI

I discovered your channel a couple weeks and ago. It's one of the best channels out there. Thanks for sharing your expertise from a technical aspect to running a RV mobile tech business. I'm current rapping up my level two at RVTI in Elkhart IN.

Thanks so much! All the extra detail was helpful!

Very well explained, this is very important. This guy gives you an education about it. I really enjoyed it

You are an Awesome Individual. Thank you for your time and caring for others.

Thank you for finally helping me understand....well, more than ever before at least 😂👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Nice way that you glued it al together. I enjoy your vids!

I will be following all your videos concerning electrical service to my 2000 Newmar Mountain Aire. I have lost two Xantrex inverters. I expect to replace this last one with a better product.

this is absolutely superb, amazing to have this resource so close to Victoria, BC

Overall the video was good, if a bit long. I didn't care for the potato analogies or the nonlinear parts of the presentation (jumping from topic to topic). That said, it's clear you are a knowledgeable individual and I appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge. I have a strong background in electrical work and got some good value from watching this video. The criticism is offered in a constructive spirit. Will be looking to more of your videos!

Thanks a lot. Your anology is informative for me. I have a better understanding of the relationship of proton, electron envolments in traveling in wire and it's relationship to it's size.

Hi Darren love your comments love your videos I’ve learned so much from you I had that happen to my camper with the neutral wires melted together now I understand why thanks

Man, what a Great video. Your teaching style matches up to my learning style. Excellent job!

thank you for doing these videos, would never of known to check torque on screws, going to buy one

Great video! Explained it great, new to rv an will be full time soon, these are supper helpful! Thanks

I believe the relationship formula, E=IR would provide a clearer understanding. Where "E" (applied electromotive force measured in volts; "I" (current measured in amps and "R" is resistance measured in ohms. If the applied voltage remains the same, then any change in one of the other 2 measurements will produce the opposite movement in the OTHER measurement. In other words, if the current measured in amps increases, then the resistance measured in ohms DECREASES. "I"goes up; "R" goes down. If "I" goes down; "R" goes up. In the case of your "smoked" neutral connections, the increased resistance produced a change in the type of energy expanded. Electrical energy changes to THERMAL energy. Thermal energy then burned your neutral wires. I really enjoy your how-to videos.....keep them up and have a blessed day.

I like the rambling myself. A lot more info falls out 👍

Great video Darren, very informative.

I am hooked on your content! You are an excellent Instructor. I know more about electricity than ever before! Thanks Again Darren

Thanks Darren, I’m sitting here having my supper and your vlogs are my go to info for future projects,thanks for the tips.

Teacher of the year

Outstanding Darren! Came into learn about converters and ended up learning other things! I never knew about torquing screwdrivers.

Excellent video! I found that one of the ground wires attached to the electronic controller was hot when I was troubleshooting why my step would not retract. Any idea as to how a ground can become a hot wire? Thanks for the great video.

Great and very clear teaching methods much appreciated.

Great job! I learned so much. I'm going to check my connections this weekend.

I am so glad I found your video's, they are very helpful to me as I'm living in my little trailer and need to be able to troubleshoot and fix myself.

Darren, the video was long but you covered a lot of theory. I like to use the water analogy, for resistance, I like to quote my electrical teacher, he told one student that to throw him into the hallway from the classroom there is less resistance if he opened the door first than if he didn't. I do not have a torque screwdriver and have always just used my own guess, I will be looking into a new driver as soon as I can find one here in Ontario. I have been around electrical for about fifty years and you are the first to point out torquing the screws to spec. I do not know anyone that has used an actual driver to check it. My dad was a full-time electrical contractor all his life. I will be soon. I will be going over the power panel in my Ibex trailer as soon as I get the new driver. A good job teaching your helper there well.

Another great explanation of how things work in our rv's. Thank you!

You had me, you lost me….you had me again, then you lost me again… in the end I do have a better understanding! Thank you!

THANK YOU . you have opened my eyes about electricity

That was an EXCELLENT video on electric. Great job again ! Thank You Very Much. I saved as a reference video.

The analogies were spot on. Good communication

Good stuff! Thanks for all the info and advice. Reafirms that preventive maintenance saves time, month, property and, possibly, lives!

I like the way you use analogies and comparisons to explain electricity for Voltage and amps. Plus alternating current with the hot patato anoligies. I also have a better understanding of the Neutral wire.

Overall, very well done. One aspect that could use work for accuracy (but doesn't really hurt the main topic you are covering) is the distinction between peak, average, and RMS values. Other than that and a couple little hickups, very nicely done!

First time watched, n found your vidieos. Very big help. I'm 64 disabled.thisis al I can aford to live in. 08 summerland camper.

Excellent explanation with a plethora of applicable tips. Thank you!